In Brief

* QUAKE – A powerful earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale struck Iran’s southern coastline, state media said.

The report said the epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 1:52 pm, was near the Gulf island of Qeshm. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.* VOTE – Voters in war-ravaged Chechnya cast ballots in their first parliamentary elections in eight years, billed by the Kremlin as a milestone in restoring normal life but dismissed by rights groups as a fake.* SUMMIT – Leaders of the 53-nation Commonwealth turn their attention to terrorism and illegal migration on the final day of their summit after launching a push for a new global trade deal.* RIGHTS – Human rights abuses in Iraq now are as bad, or worse, than when Saddam Hussein was in power, the nation’s first post-Saddam prime minister was quoted as saying in an interview with a Sunday newspaper.* SUICIDE – A suicide bomber driving a pick-up truck ploughed into a petrol station in northern Iraq, setting off a fiery explosion that killed at least five people and injured 16.* PROTEST – Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse thousands of peaceful demonstrators in Baku protesting results of parliamentary elections that gave a landslide win to President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling party.* ALERT – Snowstorms lashed Britain, France upped weather alerts after three people froze to death and travellers were stranded in Germany as a bitter cold snap gripped western Europe.- Nampa-AFPThere were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.* VOTE – Voters in war-ravaged Chechnya cast ballots in their first parliamentary elections in eight years, billed by the Kremlin as a milestone in restoring normal life but dismissed by rights groups as a fake.* SUMMIT – Leaders of the 53-nation Commonwealth turn their attention to terrorism and illegal migration on the final day of their summit after launching a push for a new global trade deal.* RIGHTS – Human rights abuses in Iraq now are as bad, or worse, than when Saddam Hussein was in power, the nation’s first post-Saddam prime minister was quoted as saying in an interview with a Sunday newspaper.* SUICIDE – A suicide bomber driving a pick-up truck ploughed into a petrol station in northern Iraq, setting off a fiery explosion that killed at least five people and injured 16.* PROTEST – Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse thousands of peaceful demonstrators in Baku protesting results of parliamentary elections that gave a landslide win to President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling party.* ALERT – Snowstorms lashed Britain, France upped weather alerts after three people froze to death and travellers were stranded in Germany as a bitter cold snap gripped western Europe. – Nampa-AFP